Nurse-Led entrepreneurship:
Nurfit Wins Global Top Excellence Award for Revolutionizing Healthcare Footwear
Nursing business is an exciting and emerging frontier that allows nurses to expand their competencies. We are proud to highlight our distinguished graduate student, Seong-hoon Oh, CEO of Nurse Note and Nurfit. His inspiring journey showcases the powerful intersection of nursing practice and entrepreneurship, demonstrating how everyday innovative ideas can transform the healthcare industry.
Nurfit, a global nursing lifestyle brand under Nurse Note Inc., has achieved an extraordinary milestone by winning the Top Excellence Award in the Global Category at the 2024 Strong Small Business Final Audition. This prestigious competition was organized by the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups, hosted by the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS), and operated by MYSC Inc. Centered around the theme of “Next Lycon: Innovating Lifestyle & Local for the Unicorn Leap,” the contest was intended to discover startups with the potential to become Korea’s next unicorn companies.
Throughout the 6-month competition, Nurfit achieved remarkable growth by exporting its flagship product, Nurstep nursing shoes, to eight countries, including the United States (via Amazon), Australia, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. This rapid expansion earned Nurfit the coveted Amazon Top Brand Award, a significant recognition among sellers. Notably, Nurfit was the only nursing-focused business among the 11 brands honored with this award.
Nurfit’s achievements were further celebrated in the special documentary and award ceremony, “Birth of the 2024 Next Lycon,” which aired on KBS 1TV on October 26, 2024.
Specifically designed for nurses who walk over 10,000 steps daily, Nurstep shoes feature ergonomic arch support and a patented super nonslip outsole. This design ensures enhanced traction on floors exposed to water or bodily fluids, allowing nurses to prioritize patient care without the risk of slipping. Seong-hoon Oh, a nurse-turned-CEO and current graduate student at Yonsei University College of Nursing, shared his vision.
“We are thrilled to see the high level of satisfaction with Nurstep internationally. We will continue developing products that ensure the safety and comfort of nurses worldwide, who save lives with every step they take. Our ultimate goal is to become the world’s leading nursing lifestyle brand.” He further emphasized:
“Business begins with identifying and addressing the customer’s pain points.
What truly matters is how persistently you focus on solving their problems and
how effectively you provide the necessary products and services to create a virtuous cycle.”
There are no conflicts of interest between Yonsei University College of Nursing and Nurfit.